Dark Monologue Reprised
by Rowan Seven
Summary: Ryouga discusses the events of seven years ago and his sinister role in them.


Title: Dark Monologue Reprised

Author: Rowan Seven

Teaser: Ryouga discusses the events of seven years ago and his sinister role in them.

Rating: R

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. They are trademarks of their respective  
companies. I am also not making any money off this fanfic so please do not sue.  
Author's Notes: I wrote this in response to the Ryouga Mailing List's "Make Ryouga Evil" challenge and posted it at a couple years ago. However, a reader complained that the PG-13 rating wasn't high enough and told me to change it or be reported. Due partially to procrastination on my part as well as other factors, the original "Dark Monologue" was taken down before I was able to resolve the situation through other means. The story was in need of a revision anyway, so I suppose these developments worked out for the best. If the person who reported the original "Dark Monologue" to the moderators is reading this, though, I ask you to, in the future, please leave an email address and give more time to respond than a week before reporting stories. Sometimes content ratings are open to debate, and I would've liked to have had the opportunity to defend my rating choice.

This is all Ranma's fault.

What? You don't believe me? I assure you, it is. If he and Akane hadn't gotten married I wouldn't have been drowning my sorrows in a bar in southern California seven years ago. Heh, don't look so disapproving, old 'friend'. It doesn't suit you at all. Besides, I'm willing to bet that when you learned the news you sought solace in a bottle of liquor too. chuckle Struck a nerve, did I?

Regardless, there I was: depressed, drunk, and contemplating suicide. Through the haze of despair my world had become I was struggling, more out of reflex than anything else, to resist the temptation to release a Perfect ShiShi Houkoudan when I sensed...something watching me. Turning, my eyes met the darkest, most hypnotic violet orbs I had ever seen. Sitting in the shadows near the back of the bar was...a woman of indescribable beauty. Her long, lustrous hair was the color of midnight speckled with stars, her skin was a striking, pearly white, and her lithe, enticing frame was all but impossible to glance away from. She smiled, blood red, sensuous lips holding promises of untold pleasure and ecstasy. To this day I don't know why she chose me and I probably never will, but choose me she did.

Walking...gliding...strutting...however she moved, this vision of dark splendor approached me, orbs never releasing mine, and sat down beside me at the counter. We talked, or rather I told her my life story in a drunken stupor while she listened intently, interest, amusement, and finally resolution gracing her enchanting features. When I had finished, she draped herself over me and whispered comforting, suggestive phrases in my ears. Normally I would've passed out from blood loss, but that night I was too drunk and depressed to care. I gave in to temptation and accepted her proposition. Together, with her supporting my intoxicated frame, we left the bar and entered the chill, Californian night air. 

I see the look of disgust in your eyes, and -- if you're thinking what I think you're thinking -- you're wrong. We did not do it that night. Instead, she led me to a secluded back alley, and we began to make out. She was...so cold, and yet her touch filled me with a burning passion so powerful it nearly made me sober. I was overwhelmed by the tempestuous heat of the moment and didn't put up the slightest resistance as she sank her fangs into my neck and drank my blood.

Look, vampires do exist so wipe that look of disbelief off your face. You've seen Jusenkyo curses, oni, flying ships, and numerous examples of magic. Surely the existence of vampires isn't that big of a leap of faith. sigh Fine then, I'll prove it to you. Boo. There, I vamped it. Satisfied? snicker I'm almost tempted to remove the gag from your mouth just to hear you scream, but then you'd interrupt my story. Besides, they'll be plenty of time for screaming later.

As you now realize, I am a vampire or, if you prefer, a nosferatu. As life left me my sire cut herself above her breasts and invited me to drink. I couldn't refuse. You can never refuse when a vampire commands you to drink. The blood tasted salty but had an inexpressible, burning potency to it. A silent, sinister power spread through my veins like wildfire before I fell unconscious and darkness embraced me.

My death I don't remember well. A light, voices, falling, a void. Surprisingly, there wasn't much pain. Merely a feeling of sadness and regret and then sweet oblivion.

The next night I was reborn. Awakening from death's slumber, I was no longer Hibiki Ryouga the pathetically nervous, indecisive human. I was Hibiki Ryouga the vampire and, despite being dead, I had never felt more alive. There was no longer any guilt or conscience to hold me back, and unfamiliar, tantalizing sensations beguiled me. It was as if I was stirring from a dream and encountering the real world for the very first time.

Waiting above me was my sire, that same hypnotic, irresistible smile on her face. She filled my vision, and, all doubts eliminated, I wanted nothing more than to be by her side and serve her for the rest of eternity. Eternity, however, had other plans.

An insatiable, gnawing hunger was just beginning to make itself known to me when a stake plunged through my creator's heart. Through the dust she'd now become I discerned the visage of a young, blonde female. Martial arts instincts taking over, I lunged backwards as she swung the stake again with the intent to eliminate me. Vampirism having enhanced my already superhuman physical attributes, my leap carried me through the wall and several yards outside into, comfortingly and appropriately, a graveyard.

It would take a little time before I fully adjusted to my new abilities, but, despite this, the girl trying to destroy me didn't stand a chance. The name she gave me was Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and I still remember our first and only fight fondly. Her combat skills and strength paled in comparison to my own, but her spunky spirit kept the battle interesting. At first I merely stayed on the defensive, gaining a feel for my new powers as I blocked her strikes and listened to her quick wit. After fifteen minutes or so, Buffy finally realized that I was holding back and that she might be in over her head. This was when I took the offensive.

Do you know how good it feels to fight with absolutely no restraint? To feel no regret or hesitation as you break your opponent's body? In my fights as a human I'd always held back slightly, not wanting to commit murder although I will admit that with Ranma I came close. Heh, a pity, really. I'd never known what I was missing out on until then. The sense of power is incredible, knowing that you have total control over your victim's fate. Whether someone will live or die, have a second beginning or a final, irrevocable ending, it depends entirely on your arbitrary choice.

I soon overwhelmed the slayer and could've killed her any time I wished. However, I wanted to make her pay for murdering my sire, and pay she did. When I was done every labored breath of hers was excruciating, practically every bone in her body broken, and her throat so sore from screaming that she couldn't even speak any longer. Then and there I slammed what remained of her against a tombstone and succumbed to my new hunger for the first time, drinking all the blood her shattered body had to offer. Although I doubt you'd agree with me on this, what, with being human and all, blood -- especially a slayer's blood -- is delicious. It's like...a fine wine that the more you drink the more you desire, and your thirst for it will never be satisfied.

After finishing my meal, I left Buffy's dead body on the ground and casually walked away. I hadn't gotten more than a mile when a demon attacked me, much to my surprise. Sunnydale could've given Nerima a run for its money in the strangeness department. Monsters, demons, and the supernatural were as common there as crazy martial artists, curses, and magic artifacts were in that madness we both participated in. Regardless, a ShiShi Houkoudan swiftly reduced the demon to ashes. Fortunately for me, vampires have unique auras of their own which meant my ki techniques were still useable. I didn't learn that explanation until later, but, at the moment, I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

An hour, two demons, and a werewolf later I stumbled upon a vampire hangout, grabbed the person in charge, and demanded to be told all the ins and outs of vampirism. Fearfully, he told me everything: sunlight destroys, impalement of the heart is lethal, holy water stings, crosses burn, siring is done by forcing a human to drink your blood, etcetera. Oh, and stay away from slayers. They'll kill you.

A smug grin rent my features, and I cheerfully informed him that I'd just slain a blonde slayer with ease. My proclamation was initially met by disbelief, but that soon changed when somebody's underling scurried in and happily announced that Buffy was dead. Cheers and congratulations then welcomed me, and we celebrated my victory by leaving the sanctuary and slaughtering every human we saw. Buffy had gathered a rather...fearsome reputation, and my fellow vampires were overjoyed to know that she was now a battered corpse.

The next night I left Sunnydale, my destination Nerima. There were many...unpleasant things I wanted to do there. Along the way I discovered two new advantages to being undead -- my Jusenkyo and directional curses were gone. Evidently they required a living body to work, and now that I lacked a heartbeat they had simply vanished. My joy at learning this was so great that I magnanimously left everyone alive in the next town I stopped at. The city afterwards wasn't so...fortunate, but oh well. They were only humans, after all.

It took me a week to find overseas transportation that wouldn't subject me to sunlight and another week before I arrived in Japan. As you are probably aware, all of Ranma's fiancées and rivals had left with the exception of the Kunos, and the pain of Ranma and Akane's wedding was so great even for those lunatics that they were spending as little time as possible outside the grounds of their mansion. Walking along unusually quiet and...well, normal streets, I made my way to the Tendo Dojo and knocked, planning on asking whoever answered when the newlyweds would be back. However, my hastily concocted schemes came to a screeching halt when Kasumi opened the door and greeted me. As a vampire, I was seeing her in an entirely new light. Her beauty was nothing new, but her blood was so innocent and pure it was practically singing to me. Kasumi was sugar, spice, and everything nice, an angel on earth, a light so bright that it pierced the darkest night, and, at that moment and more than anything else, I wanted to make her mine.

I pretended to be the Ryouga she knew, affecting an air of nervousness and politeness as I made my inquiry. Kasumi answered in her usual cheerful manner that she didn't know when Ranma and Akane would return but that I was welcome to stay for dinner if I wanted. I agreed, and she invited me in, unaware of the grave error she had just committed. The only other person in the house besides the two of us was Nabiki, Genma and Soun having left Nerima in an effort, apparently, to avoid the mass violence and destruction they assumed would occur after the wedding and were currently celebrating their good fortunes at Nodoka's. After paying Nabiki a hefty fee before she departed for college, I learned that neither Ranma and Akane nor Soun and Genma were expected to be back for at least a month. Plenty of time, I thought.

An abandoned warehouse served as my temporary residence during this period. There, during the day, I spent my hours either sleeping or practicing the martial arts with an unbelievable intensity now that the weaknesses of the flesh no longer slowed me down. During the night, however, I made a point of visiting Kasumi and gaining her trust and friendship. We'd converse for hours on -- to me, at least -- irritatingly trivial subjects, cook and do her boring, household, domestic tasks together, and go on walks under the star-filled night sky. Internally I was battling impatience and my demon's desire to drink her blood, but I knew the rewards and satisfaction would be much greater if I took my time. Besides, I wanted to have some fun first.

As for my...appetite, I cut back a bit and drank only from the faceless masses of humanity, those that nobody would miss. It was difficult, though. Vampires do have certain eating preferences, and my current victims weren't very satisfying. Sayuri and then Yuka felt my fangs when the 'bland' diet became too much for me and I desperately hungered for something more appetizing. Neither of them compared to the feast that was soon to come, though.

chuckle Alas, Dr. Tofu died a week and a half later, the victim of an unfortunate 'accident'. Kasumi was distraught, and, with me being such a good 'friend', I made sure to be there to comfort her, inextricably working my way into her heart. I spent even more time with her, gave her gifts, and took her out to dinners and movies. Every time she smiled warmly and fondly at me I grinned inwardly. We were becoming closer and closer, and Kasumi was oblivious to the danger she was in.

Hidden within the shadows of her room two weeks later, I was watching Kasumi's troubled sleep -- a development that occurred after Dr. Tofu's death and which I took great satisfaction in knowing that I was responsible for -- when it finally happened. Vampires have limited telepathy, strongest between sire and childe, and usually requiring centuries of age or the target having strong feelings for you to work on others. That night Kasumi's mind opened itself to me, and I wasted no time in taking advantage of this. I filled her dreams with pleasurable images of us together: hand in hand, mouth against mouth, flesh on flesh. In the days that followed her sleep became less distressed and, instead, filled with longing for me. She'd smile contentedly and whisper my name in her slumber as I observed this with glee, and when awake she was much more flustered around me, carnal and very un-Kasumi-like images entering unbidden into her head. Her feelings for me changed, shifting from friendship to love and lust. Not even her waking hours were safe from me as, from my sleep, I assaulted her mind with licentious daydreams to the point where her need to be near and with me was practically overwhelming.

While this was going on a postcard from Ranma and Akane arrived in the mail. They were planning on returning to Nerima soon, having stayed away for so long in the hope that the fallout from their wedding would stabilize by the time they came back. Soun, having returned to the dojo shortly after Dr. Tofu's death, was overjoyed, crying his usual pathetic waterfall of tears. Kasumi smiled, but her eyes and mind almost immediately refocused on me. I grinned, but not for the same reasons as the others. My hatred for Ranma had carried over into death and grown, now complemented by an equal hatred for Akane as well. The two of them had caused me more pain and misery than anyone else during my life, and I had every intention of paying them back. It was only a matter of time.

That weekend I invited Kasumi on a camping trip. Without a single sign of hesitation or thought she said yes, and that night she packed and we traveled to an outdoor cabin whose owners I'd recently slain to prevent any disturbances. Remarkably, the weather forecasts were actually correct for a change, and -- just as I'd hoped -- a ferocious storm struck, stranding us inside the next day as wind and rain battered the walls. Huddled together and with the gale's roar echoing around us, Kasumi fell prey to the visions I'd sent her, and the bond we shared was finally...consummated. I was so very gentle that first time, afraid she might break if I wasn't careful. As the storm reached its apex so did we, and when the deed was done and Kasumi was looking up at me with complete love and adoration in her eyes I vamped out and drank her blood. Her confused combination of terror and ecstasy was intoxicating, earning Kasumi the distinction of being the most memorable and delicious feast I've ever had the pleasure of devouring. I wasn't done with her yet, however. My name still on her dying lips, I cut myself and sired her. My darkness swallowed her light.

Heh, I know what you're thinking. How could I do that to sweet, innocent Kasumi? Well old friend, Kasumi ain't that innocent no more. The two of us have been together for the past seven years, and in that time we've created a tapestry of blood, carnage, murder, lust, and mayhem that only a vampire could dream up. There are times when Kasumi even scares me. I guess what they say about the quiet ones is true after all.

Ranma and Akane returned a couple days later, and, acting like the human I once was, I solemnly congratulated and wished them the best. Neither they, Soun, or Nabiki who was visiting to see her younger sister again suspected anything. They did express some concern about Kasumi not going out during the day, but she made up some clever excuse and, really, who could disbelieve her?

It wasn't long before I made my first move against the newlyweds. Coming home one night, Ranma and Akane, naturally, got into an argument, and the latter malleted Ranma into the next district. Separated and alone, I easily kidnapped her without anybody noticing. Kasumi took care of Nabiki that same evening, and to this day nobody has found her body...or rather, her body parts. Soun and everyone else merely assumed that she'd headed back to college.

Akane was bound, hidden away, and at our mercy. With a smiling Kasumi standing beside me I related my tale to her, leaving nothing out. I told her about P-chan, my love for her, dying and being reborn in America, my conquest of Kasumi, and, lastly, what I planned on doing to Ranma. A pity you couldn't have seen the look of devastation on her face. Akane yelled angrily at first, but her shouts soon turned to tears and her tears to fear. There was nothing she could do, and she knew this. When Kasumi and I finished our mental torture and there was nothing left to say, I kissed Akane roughly and snapped her neck. As her eyes rolled up into the back of her head a brief sensation of something...sadness?...regret?...washed over me, but the feeling passed and has never returned.

Ranma was even more fun. When he pried himself out of the ground and returned home to find Akane missing, he immediately assumed the worst. That girl had been kidnapped on a fairly regular basis, after all, and there was no shortage of possible suspects. An anonymous challenge letter that I'd written arrived the next day, and Ranma immediately pounced on it. The location of the coming battle was to be Furinkan High at midnight. Furinkan was where our first 'true' fight after Jusenkyo took place, and I felt having our last battle there was only appropriate.

That night when Ranma arrived at the school alone to find me there waiting for him, he was surprised and enraged. He asked why and demanded answers. I smugly vamped out and gave them to him, retelling the same story I'd told Akane only with her death now included in the narrative. If I had any doubts about Ranma loving Akane, they disappeared when I saw his reaction to the news of his wife's grisly demise at my hands. Furious doesn't begin to describe it. It was a primal mixture of raw anger and despair, much like when he fought Saffron but even greater. His ki swelled around him, and with a battle cry of pure, unadulterated rage he launched himself at me. I was in for the fight of my unlife and enjoying every minute of it.

Neither he nor I held anything back in this battle, both going for the kill. Ranma recognized that I was not the Ryouga he'd once known and that redemption was impossible for me. As for myself, I just wanted to kill him. Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken was countered by Bakusai Tenketsu, Moko Takabisha collided with ShiShi Houkoudan, and Hiryu Shoten Ha was drowned out by Perfect ShiShi Houkoudan. It was glorious, and for once I was completely in control. I was the one goading my opponent into premature attacks, I was the one infuriatingly dodging and evading with a smirk on my face, and I was winning. Ranma triumphed over a god once, but he couldn't defeat the demon I had become.

When the dust settled, Ranma lay unconscious and defeated at my feet amidst the ruins of Furinkan High. His speed and versatility had been no match for my enhanced endurance and sheer resilience. Grabbing Ranma by the torn neckline of his shirt, I was preparing to rip of his head and exult in a shower of blood when an even more 'appealing' idea came to mind. Although Ranma was bruised and beaten I wasn't done with him yet.

Ranma awoke a few hours later to a harsh, nightmarish reality. He was now a she and chained to my bed. I wanted to make her suffer beyond her ability to comprehend, and what better way than to violate her in the most painful and personal way possible? Whereas I had been gentle with Kasumi, I was anything but with Ranma, giving my more...carnal and base instincts free reign. For more than a night I delighted in her futile struggles, her tortured screams, her pained moans, but especially her hatred. I invaded every part of her; nothing was left untouched or unspoiled. Bones snapped, but what did I care? So long as Ranma didn't die and could still feel the agony I was inflicting I was happy. Finally I finished, and Ranma was a pitiful shell of her former self. All the pride and arrogance was gone, and her mind was so shattered that she couldn't even form coherent sentences. For a brief moment I entertained the thought of keeping her as a pet to amuse myself with, but I decided against it. Ranma was a part of my past, and she had no right to be in my future. With the silk of a serpent's tongue I whispered my victory and her failure in her ears before sinking my fangs into her neck, ending her pathetic existence once and for all.

Heh, what a pointless display of spirit. As your newfound suffering attests to, struggling is useless. I've become something of an expert on chains, and I took special care in selecting the ones to imprison you in. The more you labor to break free the tighter and more painful they'll become. Besides, why try to escape now? My story isn't done yet.

In the following week Kasumi and I continued our murder spree. Soun and everyone else nearby associated with our pasts were the first to feel our twin bloodlust, although we did spare a few. Curiosity on my part over what Miss Hinako would be like as a vampire persuaded me to give her the gift of eternal life, and the result was quite pleasing and very useful. I slew Tatewaki but sired Kodachi in order to gain access to the Kuno fortune. Kasumi frightens her so badly that she doesn't dare entertain thoughts of disobedience. Still, they were practically the only ones so honored, and under the light of the next full moon we set Nerima ablaze in a storm of fire and massacred everybody we saw. It made no difference whether they were man, woman, or child. Only carnage was left in our wake, and not a single witness to our bloodbath survived. It made headlines around the world, you know. Humans, unable to appreciate the massacre's beauty, reacted with horror and disgust, but the supernatural welcomed it with respect and affirmation.

At last I had everything I yearned for: revenge, romance, and repute. Heh, as vampires go I was and still am on top of the world. Fear and death accompany Kasumi and me wherever we travel, and the bond between us will only continue to grow now that we're mated for eternity. We go wherever and do whatever we want whenever we desire, and nobody has been able to stop us. There have been those foolish enough to try, mind you, but they met the same end as the Slayer. On a side note, it might please you to know that we ran into Genma during our travels, and Kasumi finally collected on all the impositions and demands he'd made of her earlier, human hospitality. chuckle He certainly was surprised.

And now on to the present. I must say, I didn't expect to find you here in New York, Ukyo, but I suppose after the wedding you wanted to get as far away from Nerima as possible. The move served you well; it gave you an extra seven years of life. Inviting me into your apartment, however, was a serious mistake on your part, but hey - I'm not going to complain. The only question now is what to do you with you. Quick kill, torture, or siring? Any preferences? I'm particularly fond of rape since I don't need to worry about passing out from blood loss any longer.

Regardless of what I decide, know that the decision is mine. You no longer have any say or control over your own life, Ukyo. You are less than human, less than a slave, less than even an animal. All that you are and can possibly aspire to be now is a toy that will exist only as long as it amuses me. That is the sole truth of your existence, but feel free to pretend it's a lie. This is always more fun when the dolls put up a fight.

I am Hibiki Ryouga the vampire now and forevermore, and there is no escaping me. Welcome to the nightmare. Oh, and Ukyo? As incomprehensible pain embraces you remember, this is all Ranma's fault. Heh. Haha. Mwhahahahaha!

End.


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